Silver Cloud Review

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Disappointed by Silversea

Review for South America Cruise on Silver Cloud
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10+ Cruises • Age 70s

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Sail Date: Dec 2012

We were passengers on the December 2012 - January 2013 cruise on Silversea's Silver Cloud from Buenos Aires, Argentina to Valparaiso, Chile. Upon arriving in our suite, we were immediately disappointed to learn that the scheduled port of call of Stanley in the Falkland Islands had been cancelled due to the Argentine government's enforcement of the so-called gaucho law. There was a pre-printed letter from the captain, and a revised shore excursion menu, as well as an offer of a $500 "gesture of goodwill" on a FUTURE cruise. We were informally advised by cruise staff that Silversea knew of the itinerary change at least a couple days prior to embarkation in Buenos Aires. Yet, Silversea made no effort to let us know of the change until we boarded, although they are perfectly capable of contacting us by E-mail with their repeated advertisements.

If we had known of the itinerary change even a day in advance of boarding, we could have used the high-speed Internet at our hotel in Buenos Aires to cancel our private guide in the Falklands, and try to research and schedule an alternative private guide in the substitute port. Yet Silversea seemed more interested in marketing their own shore excursions, and selling future cruises, than in informing passengers in advance of the changed itinerary, or accommodating the needs of those passengers who arrange private guides. I found it galling that Silversea would offer the $500 "goodwill" credit only on a future cruise, rather than the cruise then underway, since the harm was to the existing passengers on that cruise.

A senior staff member on the ship expressed surprise to me that the Silversea home office (in Ft. Lauderdale) had not E-mailed passengers about the changed itinerary. Due to the very poor Internet connections on the ship, we spent countless hours trying without success to arrange a guide at the substitute port, and had difficulty reaching the guide we had scheduled in the Falklands. Our arrangement with the Falklands private guide had been that if we cancelled less than 72 hours in advance, unless the port of call was cancelled due to weather, we would be liable for the pre-paid private shore excursion in Stanley. If Silversea had had the decency and common courtesy to notify us even a day in advance by E-mail, we would not have had a problem.

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